Hormones and nutrition

Hormones...we know all about them, right? But do you also know that a healthy hormone balance is largely responsible for the control of almost all processes in our body and that it is therefore also important to take a moment to consider this. The reason many women don't feel fit is almost always related to their hormone balance. If our hormones are out of balance, sooner or later something goes wrong somewhere and complaints are lurking. We would like to give you some tips about hormones and nutrition, how hormones work and what you can do about it yourself!

How do you know if your hormones are out of balance?

There are countless signals that can indicate an imbalance in your hormones, but here are the 5 most important ones: 1. Hormones and nutrition Nutrition has a very big role on our hormones. Take for example those uncontrollable binge eating. These can have multiple causes, of course, but they are often all caused by hormonal imbalances. Many pre-processed foods are so processed with salt, sweet and fat that they can have an addictive effect on our brains. As a result, we increasingly crave more. Binge eating can also be temporarily comforting; we secretly crave a hug, a compliment or attention. 2. Weight If you have difficulty losing weight, it may have to do with an imbalance in your hormones. Of course it is important that you exercise enough and eat the right foods, but with an imbalance in your hormones this is often not enough. Too much insulin in your blood makes it impossible to burn fat. Too many xenoestrogens from your diet or toxins from your environment can cause stubborn fat storage and a sluggish thyroid gland also causes low fat burning. In short: eating healthy but still retaining fat or fluid also often indicates a hormonal imbalance. If you suspect this is true for you as well, talk to your NF coach about it! 3. Mood swings Do you also notice that the days before your period starts you have a bit of a short fuse and that you no longer recognize yourself? Are you unable to influence this yourself? These mood swings are also the result of hormones being out of balance with each other. Pre Menstrual Syndrome or PMS is nothing more than a hormonal imbalance. 4. Hurried and burned out at the same time. In this case, the hormone cortisol is out of balance. Most of us are familiar with cortisol as a stress hormone. We originally need it to keep ourselves safe from danger but it also causes our bodies to be on edge. Chronic stress will eventually cause high levels of cortisol in your body, and these high levels disrupt all sorts of repair processes and balances in your body. Fluctuating levels of cortisol can make you feel on the one hand fired up and at the same time burned out. You can't get into bed late at night but early in the morning you are exhausted. Cortisol is the hormone made in your adrenal glands. If your adrenal glands eventually give up because so much cortisol needs to be produced continuously, you may have adrenal exhaustion and we don't want that! 5. Reduced sex drive Low libido in women can absolutely be caused by your hormones being out of balance. As many as 70% of complaints about low libido have a hormonal cause. We women also need testosterone to feel like making love. Normally, we make enough of it, although much less than men, of course. Too much estrogen or too little estrogen can be the cause of low testosterone. But our thyroid hormone and cortisol levels also affect this. Pooh, those hormones do affect just about everything. Now for the good news...you can balance your hormones yourself! Hormones and nutrition Basic rule The basic rule of healthy hormone balance is, don't starve yourself! It is very important that your body gets enough (good) nutrients, pay attention to what you eat and always eat enough. This also helps to avoid those uncontrollable binge eating! Eat as much natural (green) food as possible As you just read, eating a lot of pre-processed foods has a negative effect on our hormones. So hormones and nutrition is definitely something to take a moment to consider. Preferably eat only or at least as many plant/natural foods as possible, pure and unprocessed for a healthy body and hormone balance. This is really not always easy because temptations lurk everywhere. Take it very slowly, one step at a time. Start with fresh fruits and vegetables. Especially green (leafy) vegetables (for example, spinach) are important because green leafy vegetables contain a lot of magnesium, and magnesium in turn helps regulate cholesterol and osteoporosis in menopause. Therefore, it is also important to get enough calcium and vitamin D. Proteins Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are essential in the production of hormones. Some amino acids are produced by the body but the remaining essential amino acids must be obtained from food. It is therefore very important that you choose protein-rich foods such as, meat, poultry, eggs, fish and game. Fat is allowed! Getting the right fats is important for testosterone and growth hormone to stay balanced. You can find the right fats in fish, omega 3 and in eggs. Try making a delicious fish dish for yourself once a week. Hormone booster There are also hormone boosters that can be found in restricted foods. Do you want to give your hormones a boost? Then you can eat the following: eggs, lean fish, oily fish, seaweed, samphire and algae, blueberries, black pepper, ginger and turmeric. And there's more... Rest and relaxation The best remedy for stress is to have relaxation in return. This is different for everyone. Find a way to relax that suits you and your lifestyle and where you really feel the stress leave your body. Make space for it, get enough sleep, be kind to your body and it will be kind to you. Keep moving During menopause, estrogen decreases causing your muscles to decrease. Therefore, try to keep moving well, take a nice walk or ride your bike more often. Don't let it depend on the weather, just do it. What we often hear back from our members is that the moments that are often difficult in terms of eating (for example, the evening) are precisely THEN that they go for a walk! Do you have questions about your hormone balance, do you want tips on how to pay attention to this while following our method, then also discuss it with your coach! She knows better than anyone else the function of nutrition on a healthy hormone balance and is happy to help you. Make an appointment with your coach online (log in to MijnNewFysic first) or register for an intake.